A Promise of Fire

Catalia "Cat" Fisa lives disguised as a soothsayer in a traveling circus. She is perfectly content avoiding the danger and destiny the Gods-and her homicidal mother-have saddled her with. That is, until Griffin, an ambitious warlord from the magic-deprived south, fixes her with his steely gaze and upsets her illusion of safety forever. Griffin knows Cat is the Kingmaker, the woman who divines the truth through lies. He wants her as a powerful weapon for his newly conquered realm-until he realizes he wants her for much more than her magic. Cat fights him at every turn, but Griffin's fairness, loyalty, and smoldering advances make him increasingly hard to resist and leave her wondering if life really does have to be short, and lived alone.

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During the first chapter, I almost thought I was not going to continue on, but I thought, no, give it a bit of a chance - thank goodness I did - this story turned out to be amazing!!! LOVED it!!! Entire series is so extremely worth it. Highly entertaining, especially if you read the whole series.

I was surprised by the unexpected depth I found in this book. I thought it would be a romance set in a fantasy world, loosely based on ancient Greece-and it is. But is is also the start to what I think will be a great series. The characters all seem well developed, and the plot is not your typical 'I'm powerful but in hiding/he only wanted me for my power but now we are in love but resisting it till we admit it in a dramatic way while facing our greatest enemy together' kinda plot.

I enjoyed this book, for the setting, the story between the two main characters, and the story that will continue though the series.

This not a book I would usually go for. Honestly, I didn't realise it was heavy on the romance and less on the fantasy until I started reading the book since the review didn't mention it. I read it anyway and I actually had a pretty good time reading it. I mean I was more into the fantasy that the romance, some bits sort of made me roll my eyes, but it was a bit of nice light reading with a happy ending (and promise of more conflict to come in other volumes).

This was a fantastic book with the perfect blend of fantasy and romance and I loved Cat as the narrator. She's sarcastic, tough, and knows how to take care of herself. Lots of great action and interesting characters.

Heavy emphasis on romance, of the type I dislike. Female, kidnapped by male for his own purposes, of course falls in love with him. Haven't we gotten over this with "No means no"? Disappointed that this kind of thing was praised by so many.

I really enjoyed this book. I loved the characters. I got really attached to them and in to their struggles to understand themselves and to learn to trust one another. The world Bouchet created is one we know bits about but she adds her own elements so you can't really predict what she might pull out of her hat. I'm looking forward to the second book!

This was a really interesting read, overall. It's a hybrid fantasy-romance, and the fantasy world is, in my opinion, really intriguing -- it's based on ancient Greece, and they actually worship the Greek gods (who are real and interfere in the characters' lives in various ways), but it's set in a fictitious country with a complicated political landscape shaped by a bunch of families who are constantly struggling for power. The romance between the hero and heroine is satisfying -- particularly once the hero starts really respecting the heroine's abilities -- and I'm interested enough in the world Bouchet has built to ensure that I'll be reading the next installment.